Air China says first-half profit up 60 percent

BEIJING 
Air China Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned airlines, said Thursday its first-half profit rose 60 percent over a year earlier as passenger travel and cargo recovered from the global crisis.

Profit for the six months ending June 30 was 4.6 billion yuan ($675 million), or 0.39 yuan (5.7 U.S. cents per share), up from 2.9 billion yuan a year ago, the Beijing-based carrier said. Revenue rose 53 percent to 34.3 billion yuan ($5 billion).